Texas AG Paxton Recognizes Gov. Abbott’s Migrant Busing Effort Is A ‘Drop In The Bucket’

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acknowledged Tuesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to bus migrants to Washington, D.C. is just “a drop in the bucket.”

Paxton, who was speaking to reporters after presenting his case against the Biden administration’s efforts to end the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, said that Abbott’s actions have nevertheless brought attention to Texas’ immigration issues.

“It’s a drop in the bucket, compared to the people coming across our border, but it does call attention in a very legitimate way to the suffering that we have on the border of Texas,” Paxton told reporters.

Abbott pledged on April 8 to bus migrants to the nation’s capital after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Title 42, the pandemic-related policy used to quickly expel migrants, would end May 23. Many of the buses, however, have been fairly empty.

Although each bus can accommodate 40 people, the first few buses only had a dozen or a couple dozen, Abbott’s office previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation

“So, one is dealing with the federal government, this case is dealing with the federal government, their obligation to either detain before the hearing or to deport. You know, we have our hands tied, our governors have their hands tied. I don’t think it should be that way,” Paxton said.

“We have this case Arizona V. U.S. that gives the government most of the authority for dealing with the border crisis and for dealing with border security, and it limits our ability as a state to do things that maybe we would otherwise do to protect our citizens. And, so one of the responses I think the governor of Texas has made is he’s going to send people up here and at least highlight the problem,” he added.

Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.